So I Won Another Auction

[BubbaDX]

So my new Mosin arrived yesterday. The seller shipped it in a Plano clamshell rifle case which was very cool, and it has a lot of character. The stock is a very nice 2 piece Finnish stock and the pitting is not as bad close up as it looks in the pictures. Its a nice rainy day here in St. Louis, so ill see if I can get some pictures of it today. I am anxious to take it apart and look at what's under the wood as well as the receiver tang markings. More to come soon......

[BubbaDX]

Here are a few pictures. My camera has decided to be difficult and won't focus properly, so taking pictures is a bigger pain than normal. Here is a better idea of the amount of corrosion, a few interesting features of the rifle and one cause of the corrosion.

First, lets take a look at the barrel shank. A pretty corroded 1900 Izhevsk barrel shank with the SA stamp. Its not defaced except for the corrosion.

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Now lets take a look at the tang date on this 1900 receiver. At first glance, I thought it was a match, then I wised up and realized what I was looking at. What are the odds of this happening?

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[BubbaDX]

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I assume the marks on the edge of the top flat surface of the receiver is from when the receiver was mated to this barrel, by Finland I assume.

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This is a pretty cool import mark. Notice it does not say Russia like my other Century imports. It says USSR, thats cool. Now I am going to have to dig out my other CAI imports and see if any of them say USSR. Maybe I just never notice it before.

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I think this is the cause of a lot of the pitting under the woodline. If you look in the picture at what is orange in color, that is a mud like substance. There was definitely some dirt or mud trapped here many many years ago. I am going to clean this real good with lemon oil before mating the metal back in the stock.

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You can just barely make out 900 in the wood where the tang date rested in the stock.

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[Miller Tyme]

I would venture to say that rifle spent a whole winter lying buried in the snow and wasn't recovered till the spring thaw.

[fintowin]

That [SA] stamp appears to be over the top of the pitting. At least that's what it seems like from my computer screen. If this is true, then the Finns were not bothered at all by the rust that caused it.
That stock makes up for any cosmetic issues that the metal has, for sure. A very good place to put a couple of $hundos$ in my opinion.

[BubbaDX]

I would venture to say that rifle spent a whole winter lying buried in the snow and wasn't recovered till the spring thaw.

You might very well be right. The pitting goes all the way down the barrel. It also looks like it may have spent a good amount of time without the hand guard.

[BubbaDX]

That [SA] stamp appears to be over the top of the pitting. At least that's what it seems like from my computer screen. If this is true, then the Finns were not bothered at all by the rust that caused it.
That stock makes up for any cosmetic issues that the metal has, for sure. A very good place to put a couple of $hundos$ in my opinion.

I think so too. Here is a larger picture of the SA stamp. It definitely seems to cut through some of the pitting.

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[fintowin]

The more I look at this rifle, the more I like it. The pristine collector pieces have their place, but these battle used warriors are a lot neater to look at and examine. Mighty fine piece of history you have there.

[BubbaDX]

I finally took the time today to clean the bore on this Mosin. The bore was filthy. I found no copper fouling, just what looks like old caked on grease. I started with 4 patches soaked in hoppes and then a 40 cal brass brush. The 30 cal brush basically slid right though the bore with almost no effort, so either the brush is wore or the bore is wore. I am betting both are wore. Here is a glimpse of what the patches look like coming out of the bore. I did 4 patches, then a brush, then 3 patches, then a brush, etc... and a dry patch at the end.

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I am not done yet, but I can already tell a difference in the bore. I had to start doubling up on the patches because a single patch became too loose in the bore. There is still more I can get out of the bore, but so far its dark and frosted. The lands are very visible but worn. It's actually better than I expected, I may have to shoot this one after all.